Golden day for Kennett boys at Whippet Invitational

DOWNINGTOWN -- Forget the blueandwhite, the primary color for Kennett High’s boysteam at Friday’s Whippet Track and Field Invitational was gold.

The Blue Demons captured gold medals in six individual events in the big multi-school meet at Downingtown West High School. And, they also claimed the gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay when C.J. Lowe, Mikey Draine, Max Colby and Evan Jones combined for a winning time of 43.76.

Colby returned home with three gold medals. The Kennett junior also placed first in the 110 hurdles with a time of 16.11 and first in the 300 hurdles with a clocking of 40.63.

“This was a good start,” said Colby. “The weather really helped. I didn’t have to worry about tightening up. That time in the 300 hurdles was a p.r. (personal record). I hit a few hurdles but I pushed through them. I didn’t let it slow me down.

“In the 110s, I got first but it wasn’t my best time. I didn’t have a good start. But, I always catch up by the end of the race. I had good rhythm.”

Lowe and Draine both went doublegold at Friday’s meet. Lowe crossed first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.09, while Draine took the top spot in pole vault with a height of 13-0.

“The 100 went really well,” said Lowe. “I got out of the blocks well. But, I didn’t stay in my drive phase long enough. At 65 meters, I was pulling back. I didn’t lengthen my stride enough.”

Draine said, “I came in at 11-0 and then made my first attempts at 11-0 and 12-0 and my third attempt at 13-0. The first at 13-0 was a little slow, and on the second I shot right into the bar. On the third, I put a lot into it and was able to get over it. Then, I went to 13-1 to try for the school record. But, I didn’t have enough gas to get over.”

The Blue Demons amassed a diversified portfolio of gold medals that included two from jumping events. Vaughn Jenkins grabbed the gold medal in high jump with a height of 6-4, while his teammate Maalik Rochester won the gold medal in triple jump with a distance of 42-6.5.

“The 6-4 was a good height but it’s not all I can do,” said Jenkins, a sophomore. “My previous best was 5-10. Today, I came in at 6-0. I was a little concerned -- but I knew I could do it. I made 6-0 on my first try and 6-2 and 6-4 on second attempts. I cleared 6-4 by a lot. Then, I was close at 6-7 but my hands hit the bar.”

Unionville swept the gold medals from the 100 through the 800 and West Chester East took the top spots in both individual distance events.

The Indians’ event winners were Brian Kelly in the 200 at 22.83, Francis Peabody in the 400 at 51.99 and Steve Yannacone in the 800 with a time of 2:00.04. West Chester East went one-two in the 1,600 with Eric Diestelow (4:34.30) and Trey Crump (4:35.40), and their teammate Chris Cummings crossed first in the 3,200 at 10:15.56.

“It was an alright race,” said Cummings, a junior. “The pace going out was fine but I couldn’t keep it up as long as I would have liked. I knew I had to go get it so I tried to push the pace early on. I felt about what I should after the first mile. Then, I think I was able to bring it in strong on the last lap. I was pretty happy with how it went today.”

Downingtown West’s Blair Wilkins made sure that at least one gold medal remained on campus. The veteran jumper took first in long jump with a distance of 20-10.5.

Other area gold medalist were Unionville’s Beck Tuvesson in shot put with a heave of 43-2 and West Chester Henderson’s foursome of Reiny Barchet, Jason Hall, Kevin Moy and Tony Russell in the distance medley relay with a time of 10:25.55.